I was surprised to see the reference to contact lenses, my brother in law, who recently passed away, actually invented many types of contacts.
He use to be great friends with Fred Hollows, and did similar work, and he has research units all around the world. 68 or 78? all named after him.
He spent 3/4 of his life traveling, keeping his "offices" up to date with his latest research, and saving eye sight.
He was awarded an OA for his tireless work.
You would have never heard of him, but if you google Professor Brien Holden OA, you will see hundreds of websites dedicated to his work, and all the awards he received.